Portable stowage rack for beverage containers

ABSTRACT

A portable stowage rack for transporting and displaying beverage containers, such as soft drink bottles, arranged in a plurality of vertically stacked layers. The stowage rack includes a back member, a base inclined toward the rear wall, a plurality of sheet-like members secured to the back member and extending therefrom to overlie each layer of bottles except the top layer, and a wire yoke supported on the back member and extending around the periphery of the upper layer of bottles to retain them in the stacked condition and against lateral movement therefrom.

United States Patent 1191 Shiflet [451 Mar. 25, 1975 PORTABLE STOWAGE RACK FOR BEVERAGE CONTAINERS [75] Inventor: Frank L. Shiflet, Waynesboro, Va.

[73] Assignee: Hopeman Brothers, Inc., New York,

22 Filed: Feb. 9, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 331,130

511 Int. Cl B62b 11/00, B62b 3/02 [58] r q gs ,2 0/3399 H, 33.99 R, 280/33.99-F, 33.99 8, 33.99 T, 79.1,793,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,252,306 8/1941 Raucci 211/49 R 2,716,495 8/1955 Prevette et a1 280/793 UX 2,852,143 9/1958 Taber 211/134 X 3,027,174 3/1962 Garbarino 280/3399 H 3,197,224 7/1965 Kappen 280/3399 H X 3,240,351 3/1966 Weiss et a1 108/55 X 3,519,286 7/1970 Anderson 280/3399 R Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-David M. Mitchell Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Smith, Harding, Earley & Follmer [57] ABSTRACT A portable stowage rack for transporting and displaying beverage containers, such as soft drink bottles, arranged in a plurality of vertically stacked layers. The stowage rack includes a back member, a base inclined toward the rear wall, a plurality of sheet-like members secured to the back member and extending therefrom to overlie each layer of bottles except the top layer, and a wire yoke supported on the back member and extending around the periphery of the upper layer of bottles to retain them in the stacked condition and against lateral movement therefrom.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PORTABLE STOWAGE RACK FOR BEVERAGE CONTAINERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to stowage racks for articles such as beverage containers and more particularly, to a portable stowage rack for use in stowing beverage containers arranged in a plurality of vertically stacked layers in a secure manner during the transporting thereof and during the display thereof.

In the merchandising of soft drinks and other beverages there is a need for minimizing the amount of handling of the beverage containers as they are transported between the bottler and the display location at the retail outlet. Moreover, it is essential that during their transport the bottles are held securely on the stowage rack so as to prevent any of the bottles from falling off the sides or front of the rack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the general object of the invention to provide a portable stowage rack for beverage containers which permits improved efficiency in the handling of beverage containers as they are transported between the bottler and the retail outlet and which is designed to hold the beverage containers securely in the stowed position so as to minimize the possibility of the containers falling from the rack during the transporting thereof.

Briefly stated, the stowage rack in accordance with the invention comprises a back member, a base adapted to have an array of beverage containers supported thereon, a plurality of sheet-like members se cured to the back member and extending therefrom for overlying each layer of the bottles except the top layer, a wire yoke for retaining the top layer of bottles in the stacked condition, and wheel means for portably supporting the base and back member to permit the transporting of the rack.

The stowage racks have the ability to nest together when not in use, for stacking full or empty beverage containers, so as to minimize the floor area required for storage.

The portable stowage rack in accordance with the invention permits a handling procedure in which the bottler places filled beverage containers onto the stowage rack in vertically stacked layers at the bottling plant. The stowage rack is then transported to the retail outlet by a truck or the like. At the retail outlet the portable stowage rack is wheeled to a point of purchase location where the wheels are locked in place and the wire yoke isstored in back. At this location the customer takes the beverage containers directly from the stowage unit in six or eight pack cartons or in cases. Empty stowage racks are loaded with empty returnable beverage containers and, when full, returned to the bottler for recycling. This procedure has the advantage that the beverage container is handled by the merchandiser as a unit only once, namely,,when it is placed on the portable stowage rack at the bottling plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable stowage rack in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the stowage rack shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the detail;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the portable stowage rack in accordance with the invention in the displayed condition fully stacked with beverage containers;

FIG. 5 is a side view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a pair of stowage racks in accordance with the invention in a nested condition; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section of the base, showing a latch for securing the base in a near-vertical condition against the back member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The stowage rack in accordance with the invention comprises a base 10 adapted to support a desired number of bottle containers. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the base 10 is designed to support an array consisting of four rows of six-pack cartons each of which contains six bottles, each row containing four of the six-pack cartons. It will be apparent that the stowage rack can be adapted to support various arrangements of beverage containers, such as eight-pack cartons of bottles or other types of beverage containers such as cans. It is also obvious that the stowage racks can be of different sizes and can accomodate beverage containers of various sizes.

The base 10 comprises a base frame 12 made of a plurality of channel members secured together, as by welding, as shown in FIG. 1, such channel members including a front leg 14, a pair of side legs 16 and 18 and a pair of end members 20 and 22. The frame 12 is open between end members 20 and 22 and the side legs 16 and 18 converge inwardly as they extend from end members 20 and 22 to the front leg 14 to permit the nesting of the base frames of two stowage racks as shown in FIG. 6.

A pair of back wheel means 24 and a pair of front wheel means 26 are mounted on the underside of the base frame 12 to provide for a rolling support thereof. The wheel means 24 are fixed wheel casters and wheel means 26 are conventional casters comprised of a wheel mounted on a swiveling frame. The front wheel means 26 are provided with suitable brakes such as a conventional wing brake indicated at 28.

A back member 30, made of a channel-like construction, is mounted by bolts (not shown) to the pair of end members 20 and 22 of the base frame 12 to extend in an upright manner therefrom. The back member 30 is constructed and arranged to be inclined backwardly slightly from the vertical as is best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The angle of the back member 30 to the vertical is shown at about 3 although this angle may be as much as 7, or more. The back member 30 serves as a back support for the stacked bottles.

The base 10 comprises a shelf 32 which is pivotally mounted by means of hinge 34 at the lower end of back member 30. Shelf 32 has a generally rectangular frame construction and comprises cross channel members 36 which are welded to the under side of the top wall 38 thereof to provide added structural strength. The bottom of shelf 32 is provided with three edge portions 40, 42 and 44 which are adapted to rest on top of the side leg 16, the front leg 14, and the side leg 18, respectively.

The shelf 32 is constructed so that when it is supported on the base frame 12, the top wall 38 is tilted backwardly relative to the horizontal approximately 3 so that it extends perpendicularly to back member 30. The angle of this tilt may be as high as 7 or more for some applications.

The shelf 32 is movable from a down position as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 upwardly to an up position as shown in FIG. 1. In the down position the shelf 32 rests on the base frame 12 and is adapted to support a plurality of beverage containers as is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In the up position shelf 32 is clear of the base frame 12 to permit the nesting of a plurality of stowage racks in the manner shown in FIG. 6. In the nested position the base frame of one stowage rack nests into the base frame of an adjacent stowage rack providing the advantage that less storage space is required for the stowage racks. A suitable latch 48 (shown in FIG. 7) engages a slot (not shown) in the back member to hold the shelf 32 in the up position.

There are provided three plastic spring rollers 50 of the type described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,143. The spring rollers 50 are self-coiling, sheet-like members secured at one end onto the back member 30 and adapted to be uncoiled to extend outwardly from the back member 30 to be positioned between layers of beverage containers as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The spring rollers 50 are made to extend horizontally across the entire width of the back member 30 so as to provide sufficient structural strength to prevent the bottles from falling off the ends of the stowage rack. The spring rollers 50 are made of a plastic or other suitable material which provides sufficient friction so that the weight of the bottles acting thereon effectively secures the bottles to the back member to thereby prevent the lower three layers of the bottles from falling off the ends or the front of the stowage rack.

Means are provided for securing the top layer of beverage containers in place on the stowage rack. Such means comprises a wire retainer or yoke 60, the construction of which is shown in detail in FIG. 3. The wire retainer 60 consists of a generally U-shaped wire member providing a pair of parallel side legs 62 and 64 and a front leg 66 and a middle leg member 68 parallel to the side legs 62 and 64 and extending from the middle of the front leg 66. The legs 62, 64 and 68 are provided with turned ends 72, 74 and 78, respectively, as shown in FIG. 3. The top end of the back member 30 is provided with three holes 82, 84 and 88 adapted to receive the legs 62, 64 and 68. By this construction, the wire retainer 60 may be stowed in a vertical position in the top end of the back member 30 as shown in solid lines in FIG. 1. In this position, the side legs 62, 64 and 68 of retainer 60 are totally contained in the back member 30 as shown in FIG. 2. The wire retainer 60 is movable from this stowed position to extend forwardly from the top of the back member 30 as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1. To remove the retainer from the stowed position to the dashed position of FIG. 1, the wire retainer is lifted vertically upwardly until the turned ends 72, 74 and 78 contact the top wall 31 after which the wire is simply. turned forwardly to the horizontal position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1, the turned ends 72, 74 and 78 remaining in engagement within the holes 82, 84 and 88 in the upper end 31 of the back member 30. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wire retainer 60 is constructed and arranged so as to contact the bottles in the upper layer near their upper ends, which. in the case of the necked down bottles shown, would be in the region of the necks of the bottles, the retainer 60, of course,

contacts only the bottles located at the outer periphery of the array of bottles in the top layer. The top layer acts as a keystone to retain the remaining bottles in place on the stowage rack.

While the wire yoke described above is the preferred embodiment for the keystone effect of this element, any strap, frame or other securing device that would prevent the top layer of beverage containers from falling off would accomplish the same function.

When the stowage rack 10 is fully loaded with four layers of stacked beverage containers as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wire retainer 60 over the top layer of bottles acts as the key in retaining all of the bottles on the stowage rack. This is achieved by preventing any of the bottles in the top layer from falling off the sides or front of the rack during those times when the stowage rack is moved. Since the top layer of bottles is retained by the wire yoke 60 and cannot be dislodged, the roller between the top layer and the layer immediately therebelow will be maintained in frictional contact with the tops of these bottles. The weight of the top layer of bottles on this plastic roller and thus onto the top of the bottles in the layer below provides for a substantial frictional contact between the roller 50 and the tops of the bottles. This frictional force prevents movement of the tops of these bottles in any direction to thereby retain them in position. The other plastic rollers 50 between the other layer of bottles act in the same way to anchor the bottles to the back of the rack. It will thus be apparent that the bottles are held very securely in the stowage rack so that it can be moved for various purposes, such as transporting the bottles from trucks to a display position at the retail outlet, without fear that the bottles will fall off of the stowage rack. In addition, the 3 or greater tilt of the back member 30 and the shelf 32 serves to position the bottles so that they tend to lean toward the back member and will not be easily dislodged from this inclined condition, thus providing added stability.

It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A portable stowage rack for beverage containers comprising a base means adapted to have an array of beverage containers supported thereon, a back member extending upwardly from the back end of said base means to provide a backing support for a plurality of layers of beverage containers stacked in arrays on said base means, said base means including a shelf portion upon which the bottom layer of beverage containers is supported, means extending from the top portion of said back member around the periphery of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for retaining the same on the stowage rack, said retaining means including a portion extending across the front of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for preventing forward movement thereof away from said back member, said retaining means being movably mounted on said back member for movement between said position extending therefrom for retaining beverage containers to a stowed position clear of the beverage container to permit removal of the beverage containers from the stowage rack. and wheel means for portably supporting said base means and said back member, the shelf portion and the back member being backwardly inclined so as to support the beverage containers in a stacked,

backwardly inclined condition, said retaining means including a wire yoke mounted on said back member for movement to the beverage container retaining position extending forwardly from said back member for contact with the beverage containers defining the periphery of the array of beverage containers in the top layer, said top portion of said back member extending generally horizontally away from the front face thereof which faces the stowed beverage containers, and said wire yoke being mounted with side legs slidable and pivotal in openings in said top portion said back member for movement to a position with said side legs stowed vertically behind said front face of said back member.

2. A portable stowage rack for beverage containers comprising a base means adapted to have an array of beverage containers supported thereon, a back member extending upwardly from the back end of said base means to provide a backing support for a plurality of layers of beverage containers stacked in arrays on said base means, said base means including a shelf portion upon which the bottom layer of beverage containers is supported, means extending from the top portion of said back member around the periphery of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for retaining the same on the stowage rack, said retaining means including a portion extending across the front of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for preventing forward movement thereof away from said back member, said retaining means being movably mounted on said back member for movement between said position extending therefrom for retaining beverage containers to a stowed position clear of the beverage containers to permit removal of the beverage containers from the stowage rack, wheel means for portably supporting said base means and said back member, and sheet-like means mounted on the back member and adapted to be extended therefrom to be positioned between adjacent layers of said beverage containers, the base means comprising a frame portion, said shelf being pivotally mounted for pivotal movement from a position resting on said frame portion to a position adjacent said back member, said frame having an open U-shaped configuration with rearwardly diverging legs by which the frame of another stowage rack may be nested therewith from the rear.

3. A portable stowage rack according to claim 2 in which the sheet-like means are self-coiling. 

1. A portable stowage rack for beverage containers comprising a base means adapted to have an array of beverage containers supported thereon, a back member extending upwardly from the back end of said base means to provide a backing support for a plurality of layers of beverage containers stacked in arrays on said base means, said base means including a shelf portion upon which the bottom layer of beverage containers is supported, means extending from the top portion of said back member around the periphery of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for retaining the same on the stowage rack, said retaining means including a portion extending across the front of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for preventing forward movement thereof away from said back member, said retaining means being movably mounted on said back member for movement between said position extending therefrom for retaining beverage containers to a stowed position clear of the beverage container to permit removal of the beverage containers from the stowage rack, and wheel means for portably supporting said base means and said back member, the shelf portion and the back member being backwardly inclined so as to support the beverage containers in a stacked, backwardly inclined condition, said retaining means including a wire yoke mounted on said back member for movement to the beverage container retaining position extending forwardly from said back member for contact with the beverage containers defining the periphery of the array of beverage containers in the top layer, said top portion of said back member extending generally horizontally away from the front face thereof which faces the stowed beverage containers, and said wire yoke being mounted with side legs slidable and pivotal in openings in said top portion said back member for movement to a position with said side legs stowed vertically behind said front face of said back member.
 2. A portable stowage rack for beverage containers comprising a base means adapted to have an array of beverage containers supported thereon, a back member extending upwardly from the back end of said base means to provide a backing support for a plurality of layers of beverage containers stacked in arrays on said base means, said base means including a shelf portion upon which the bottom layer of beverage containers is supported, means extendinG from the top portion of said back member around the periphery of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for retaining the same on the stowage rack, said retaining means including a portion extending across the front of the array of beverage containers in the top layer for preventing forward movement thereof away from said back member, said retaining means being movably mounted on said back member for movement between said position extending therefrom for retaining beverage containers to a stowed position clear of the beverage containers to permit removal of the beverage containers from the stowage rack, wheel means for portably supporting said base means and said back member, and sheet-like means mounted on the back member and adapted to be extended therefrom to be positioned between adjacent layers of said beverage containers, the base means comprising a frame portion, said shelf being pivotally mounted for pivotal movement from a position resting on said frame portion to a position adjacent said back member, said frame having an open U-shaped configuration with rearwardly diverging legs by which the frame of another stowage rack may be nested therewith from the rear.
 3. A portable stowage rack according to claim 2 in which the sheet-like means are self-coiling. 